CBR: Rick Remender's Plans for The Punisher

[CBR News]

Frank Castle's war against Norman Osborn is coming to a head in "Dark Reign: The List - Punisher," which leads into "Frankencastle," and there's a new annual too! CBR spoke with writer Rick Remender about his many plans for The Punisher.


Full article here.

[Dog]

Well, I'm excited.

That must mean everyone else will be tearing their hair out for the next year.

[Bevbos]

I'm down. I mean, whatever. At this point, Punisher has gotten so surreal, they might as well "go there". Could always be a Skrull Punisher anyways, right? I'm sure Frank'll get "reset" at some point, but this is a lot of fun in the meantime.

[Sean Walsh]

I've enjoyed this latest arc - and I have to say, Huat's art hasn't killed my interest in the story.

REALLY hoping we see more of the Deadly Dozen (and the other Scourge folks brought back in #5) somewhere else in the MU later down the line....

[Talkie Toaster]

Remender's run has been great so far, so I have high hopes for Frankencastle

[The One and Only]

So Frank starts bumping heads with the more macabre members of the MU in the Frankencastle arc. Interesting.

[NickFury90]

I'm actually enjoying the Punisher for the first time in...well ever, really. I greatly look forward to whatever Remender has in up his sleeve.

Edit: Well, I gotta take that first statement back. I did really enjoy "Welcome Back, Frank". It was when it got formulaic and lost the really dark humor during the MAX series that made me hate it.

[Monty_Cristo]

i wonder if Castle will ever get to shoot it out with this guy...
http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0...-001_super.jpg

[midnight138]

I'll preface this by staying positive and noting that this series started out very strong and I enjoyed it a lot. I've been a fan of The Punisher character since 1987. I have a pretty strong opinion on what the character is about and how I like to see him handled.

Says Remender:
"you know that we do fun, pulp-style stuff and the aesthetic here is going to be reminiscent of things from ‘50s and ‘60s comic books, films, and television shows. That’s what we like. Using the trappings of kitsch and pulp for the visuals we then work tirelessly to tell a hopefully solid story with a modern sensibility. We’re taking an area of the Marvel Universe that’s been underutilized and throwing the Punisher into it to see what happens.”


I don't care to see terms like "fun" and "kitsch" used when describing a Punisher title. I also don't want a Punisher that is "reminiscent of 50s and 60s tv and film". Remender notes that this is what he likes to do. Well, just because you like it or it worked on something else doesn't mean it's right for this title or this character. Imagine if, for instance, Garth Ennis were hired to write Superman (yeah, I know...) and he applied the same logic. How well do you suppose that would go over?

I like how he began his description of this new direction with the disclaimer, “I know there’s going to be some people who are going to judge this before they actually see it, but contempt prior to investigation is low thinking."
That's a good one. So, if you don't even want to take a look at a fun and "kitsch-y" Frank Castle as undead monster book, you just aren't smart enough to get it. Nice pre-emptive hushing of anyone who doesn't like the concept straightaway, lest anyone think they're just not smart or cool enough to "get it". Bravo Mr. Remender,that's a trick right out of Washington DC!

Seriously though, based on the description the writer himself used to sell his new direction, I don't like the idea and I've dropped this title from my pull list. This book has now done a midsteam genre-change into something that is not of my liking (retro, kitschy, psuedo-monster book). If it turns out to be brilliant for fans of that type of book, then well done Mr. Remender. I, however, will pass.

[Whitster]

I dropped this as soon as people started being resurected. Roll on Aarons MAX series.

[docholliday504]

I'm one of those people judging before I see it. This is going to Blow.

[bjmorga]

I'm iffy about this book. I'm a huge Punisher fan of old and own nearly everything printed under the Punisher moniker, even the 2099 series. There were tons of stinkers in terms of stories in the 1990s and this story reeks of that on the surface.

I want to stay positive and not judge the book before it really hits....but this whole d-list all-stars thing has gone a bit overboard and I'm not looking forward to anything remotely resembling a Frankencastle. I know Remender says a dude like Punisher just can't go knocking off crack dealers while existing in the Marvel Universe. I get that. He can tussle with the big baddies of the MU. Does he need to become a half-monster to do so? And what happens after a while when Punisher doesn't wax some of these guys? He becomes the "Brawler" and not the "Punisher."

One of the things that drew me to Punisher was that he was so intense and take no prisoners. I was reading Batman back when I started reading Punisher. I distinctly remember thinking, "Batman is hitting guys who dress up as clowns while Punisher is killing mother f*&^%$#@!" That's why I read Punisher, not because he punches dudes dressed in Fly costumes.

[Doc Goblin]

I quit reading the title mid-way into the current arc. This is just not the sort of Punisher book I want to read. It is definitely SO MUCH better than War Journal was, but it also just seems... out of touch with the Punisher. I like my Punisher more grounded, ESPECIALLY if he's operating right in the heart of the Marvel Universe. The hi tech arsenal just doesn't do it for me. It's cool to see Frank make use of these things occasionally but... give me seeing Frank put a bullet in a villains head over an energy beam any day.

Also, Remender writes a horrible Hood and it was bugging the crap out of me. Writes the Hood like some generic, cliched mob boss. It doesn't sound like the character at all to me.

So this outlandish Frankencastle stuff? Yeah. Really not the kind of thing that's going to bring me back.

[zebop]

I bailed on the book when Opena left and I'm got zero-minus-zero interest in this "Frankencastle" b.s.

I had hopes Remender "got" what makes The Punisher a great character, but he's dashed that hope with his aimless stories and off-characterizations. I dropped this book from my pull list months ago and nothing Remender is planning interests me in the slightest.

This book went potentially good to absolute suck in one big hurry. Too bad.

[midnight138]

Remender started losing me a few issues back too, bjmorga. The first issues were really good, though. Switching artists didn't help either, as I don't really care for the current penciller's style. Your example of Batman is a good example of a human character with no superpowers who can hang with the big guns in the DC universe and thrive. There's no reason to turn the Punisher into some kind of man-monster to make him viable in the middle of the Marvel U.

Doc Goblin, I have to say that I liked the idea of Punisher upgrading his weapons and using the high-tech stuff. It made sense to me that, if this stuff is available to the super-powered set, then a guy like Castle would want to get his hands on it, too. I agree completely with your opinion about the way he writes the Hood, though.